


Monster Hunter - A glimpse into a future chapter of Growing Up

by peacehopeandrats



Series: Growing Up [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-27
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-08-30 03:38:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16756948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peacehopeandrats/pseuds/peacehopeandrats
Summary: TimingThis series fills in all the space between Gideon's first birthday and Belle's death.Quick SummaryA young Gideon needs a hero to save him, but can the hero protect him from magic as well as the monster that lurks in the forest?This is a snippet of a future chapter in my Growing Up series, posted in response to a prompt for the Writer's Block. (prompt info in notes) There is a reference here to something that happens in a previous chapter that hasn't been posted yet, but you don't need to know the details of it to understand the basic idea of this story.





	Monster Hunter - A glimpse into a future chapter of Growing Up

**Author's Note:**

> Obligatory "posting fanfiction makes me uncomfortable" remarks  
> Being my first independent series, I feel this stumbles along a little.  
> I don't like magic.  
> I can't do magic.  
> And I'm rubbish at explaining what I don't know about.  
> I wanted to explore the Gold family's adventures, so I did.  
> And yes, the title was a play on words.
> 
> Also, I do have a full chapter and a good chunk of Growing Up ready to post.  
> Unfortunately, it has to wait for upcoming chapters of Once Upon A Crime to be posted first.  
> I'm working on it.  
> Or I'm working on making things more complicated for myself.  
> I'm not sure which.  
> I welcome your comments on everything I post, but especially on this one.  
> I'm curious to know how it reads to someone who is encountering it for the first time.  
> (You will understand the above sentence when you read the story below.)  
> Why am I rattling on in these notes?
> 
> The website for the prompt is here  
> https://writersblock378601501.wordpress.com/blog/  
> The challenge is to write a story that begins with whatever line is provided. The site accepts any type of fiction, including fanfiction.  
> September's prompt was  
> The entrance to Laurel Creek Estates wasn’t on any map.

The entrance to Laurel Creek Estates wasn’t on any map. The sole inhabitant had built the community from the ground up, and owned everything within the protective walls. He knew each bend in the road and the location of every building beyond the gate, making a rendering on paper unnecessary. His house had been the first to be constructed, on a rise that was perfectly centered between a patch of laurel bushes and a small creek. It was prime property and he loved the location so much that for a long time he hardly went anywhere else. Eventually visitors began to ask questions about available land and it was agreed that a second house should be constructed, just in case they decided to stay on as residents. Another home was quickly built downstream, but went unused for so long that its builder decided it should be something more useful than an empty house, so the second estate became a bakery. The same happened to the next home that was constructed, then the next, until the area was filled with only one rather large estate which was surrounded by various buildings; a bakery, a candy store, a bank, a trinket shop, and a school. Visitors still came, of course, and were promised a hotel would soon be built as soon as open land could be found.

As the collection of buildings changed, the wall around them also had to be expanded. This boundary was made of only the thickest, most durable materials available and was a clear reminder to anyone who arrived that the community was well guarded. Two signs marked the only break in the defenses, one carved into a pillar on the left of the entrance read “Heroes Welcome” and the other, carved into the pillar on the right read “Monsters Unwelcome.” These signs were incredibly important, for monsters did indeed inhabit the woods beyond, and often came at dusk, seeking children to carry away with them for dinner.

Today visitors had come to town. They spent an afternoon shopping with the estate's owner and having a tour of the newly completed school house, then stopped in at the bakery before heading to the estate by the creek for proper refreshment. As they chatted with the property owner, time escaped them, and before they were aware, dusk hung heavily in the air outside of the large windows.

Quite suddenly, somewhere beyond the boundary wall, a heavy stomping could be heard. Fallen branches snapped like twigs under the feet of the mighty monster as it stalked forward, determined to snatch the only child in the city and take him to its lair. “I am coming to get you,” it called out in a husky, yet squeaky voice. “You can't hide from me, little boy...”

Gideon ducked behind the chair he had been sitting in and cringed. “I don't want to go,” he said with a pout. “I want to stay here.”

From beside him, someone moved. “Don't worry,” they answered as a pat came gently on Gideon's head. “I'll do my very best to give you time to slip away.”

Gideon swallowed hard and shut his eyes tightly as his stomach rumbled. He thought about his mother and the squash soup she had promised to make him that very evening. It was his favorite of everything she ever made and the thought of its warm goodness made the rumbling in his belly so loud that Gideon was certain the monster could hear it. To take his mind off of his discomfort, he focused on the words drifting to the house from down the road.

“Leave the boy,” came the voice who had just been beside him. “Or I will have to slay you.”

“Slay me?” The monster huffed, almost as if it were teasing the hero who had come to Gideon's aid. “I have heard of your prowess... perhaps _I_ should challenge _you_...” It let out a thoughtful sound before adding, “but only after I eat my supper. I think I will need my strength against you.”

“He doesn't wish to go,” answered the Hero.

A thick, rumbling chuckle filled the air and Gideon could hear the shuffle of feet as the monster cried out. “Then you must try and stop me!”

Gideon's eyes snapped open at those words and he scrambled to his feet. “Mother! No!” Around him the walls of buildings dissolved as he rushed past trees, jumped over fallen logs, and ran down the dirt path to where his mother stood. He pushed her backward, placing himself between her and the danger, then looked up at her angrily. “You can't make him hurt you! You can't!”

His mother squatted down to his height and glanced around at her feet, picking up a sturdy stick and holding it in her hand. “But Gideon, doesn't a hero have to slay the monster?” Her eyes lifted up, beyond him, to the man who faced her and she smiled as she lifted the stick for him to take. “I believe you _need_ this, my handsome hero...”

Gideon's Papa cleared his throat as his hand wrapped around the stick, gripping it like he would a sword. “Yes.. I believe I do..”

“Besides,” his mother said playfully. “What if I don't want to be the monster _every_ time?”

Stepping away from her, Gideon shouted, “You can't make Papa hurt anyone!” He shook with the anger and fear he felt inside and balled his hands tightly against his feelings. “He's _good_ ,” he said sadly as he calmed himself past his hurt. Fighting tears, Gideon pushed away from his parents and took off to the giant tree in the center of his make believe town.

* * *

“Gideon!” Rumple called after his son and tried to follow, but Belle caught his hand and held it tightly in her own.

“Rumple...” She waited, took in a breath and when his eyes didn't meet hers, she called out in a sharper tone. “Hey... Hey!” Willing Rumple to snap out of whatever torment he seemed caught in, she reached a hand to his face and forced his eyes to meet her own. Trying not to become lost in his gaze, she took in a deep breath and let a warm smile grow on her face. “He'll be all right,” she told him gently, letting her fingers caress the skin of his cheek.

He sighed as his eyes followed Gideon's path and settled on the boy's form where it leaned against the tree. “We should never have told him about my mother cutting me from my destiny,” he said sadly.

Belle threw her hands to her hips, her voice turning sharp as she scoffed at him. “You'd rather we let him believe that you were beating me every time that he heard us together?”

Rumple's eyes grew wide and his head turned quickly back to her. “Of _course_ not,” he insisted, pulling her tightly into his chest as if he could protect her from the past.

Belle melted against him and settled into a calm silence as she watched Gideon in his thinking spot. Her eyes wandered over his make believe city and she marveled at his creativity. It had taken him months to arrange branches and stones to make the outline of buildings and just as long to clear away paths between those buildings until they were obvious roads. Yes, he had needed help moving all of the fallen logs into place to mark the walls of what he called Laurel Creek Estates, but the rest he had done completely on his own. She smiled as she felt a pride swell up in her, then felt crushed just as suddenly when her eyes fell back on the tree, only to see that Gideon had gone.

“Belle?” Rumplestiltskin glanced down at her with worry, then instinctively looked up to the tree. “Gideon?!”

The two broke into a sprint as they ran to the trunk, calling their child's name and searching frantically for any signs of his wandering off. Belle was the first to notice his small footprints and traced their path with her eyes. “Rumple,” she said, catching his hand and pointing down. “Look. He couldn't have wandered off. His footprints stop right at the tree.”

Her husband frowned, forehead furrowing as he processed that information. Belle could almost feel him concocting scenarios the way he used to blend items into magical potions. He stepped one way, then another, and finally stared intently at the bark of the tree. Hesitantly, Rumple reached out a hand to touch the rough exterior and in the instant of contact, recognition spread across his face. “Why didn't I see it before?” His tone was angry, harsh and sharp, the way it was so often in the past when he hated himself the most.

Immediately Belle reached for him, her fingers pressing lightly to the base of his neck until he turned to face her, his eyes taking in her expression and softening as he read the confidence and love that was written there as certainly as if it were text on a page. It was a look she was so used to giving him, one that was so deeply rooted in their past, that she could practically call it into being in the blink of an eye. She spoke only when he had settled back into the present. “What am I missing?”

“The tree,” Rumple said as he gestured at the thick trunk, “is magical.” He sighed, took half a step back, and looked it up and down before testing his weight against various parts of the bark. After a long breath, he turned to face her. “It's acting as a portal to another realm.”


End file.
